The present invention is directed to short-range wireless communication applications, and more particularly, to techniques to prevent interference between communication devices and other devices that create periodic or quasi-periodic interference with them.
In wireless networks, particular short-range wireless networks such as wireless local area networks (WLANs), the radio frequency band that the wireless network uses is often a frequency band that is shared with other wireless applications. For example, an IEEE 802.11 WLAN operates in either the 2.4 GHz unlicensed band or one of the 5 GHz unlicensed bands in the U.S. Other non-IEEE WLAN devices operate in these frequency bands, including devices that operate in accordance with the Bluetooth™ protocol, cordless telephones, microwave ovens, infant monitors, radar, etc. Some of the non-WLAN devices that operate in these unlicensed bands transmit on a periodic or quasi-periodic basis, and their transmissions can interfere with operation of WLAN devices. When transmissions of WLAN devices at least partially overlap with the transmissions of the non-WLAN devices, the WLAN device may suffer complete loss of signal, or at the least reduced signal quality and/or throughput. Likewise, the non-WLAN devices may suffer similar problems.
Accordingly, a mechanism is needed to allow for cooperative operation of WLAN devices with non-WLAN devices so that throughput of both WLAN and non-WLAN communication is not significantly degraded.